LGBTQ+ people encounter elevated mental health struggles, support available in El Paso
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The latest figures from a federal organization focused on mental health and substance abuse show that LGBTQ+ adults face a high rate of mental health.
These figures were collected by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, also known as SAMHSA. They cover a period from 2021 to 2022, involving national surveys on health and drug use amongst the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual communities.
The report states that a "high prevalence" of both mental health issues and substance abuse has been documented for some time in sexual minority communities across the country.
According to the Moving Advancement Project, (MAP), over a million people over age 13 identify as LGBTQ+ across Texas. MAP is an independent nonprofit think tank.Gallup and Williams research from 2019 estimates about 4% of the state's adults were LGBTQ+.
Amber Pérez, executive director of the Borderland Rainbow Center, says that support of all types are available in El Paso through their organization -- for all members of the community.
The Center provides a wide range of support from sexual trauma healing, deaf services, peer support groups, personal therapy and a food pantry.
Some key takeaways from the report focus on mental health. Overall, bisexual women were more likely than lesbian and straight females to experience any type of mental illness.
Women from sexual minorities were more likely to develop sever mental illness than cisgender women between 2021 and 2022.
For men, severe mental illness was over three times higher for bisexual males than straight men. Men identifying as gay were at double the risk of developing severe mental illness than heterosexual men.
Overall, according to the data compiled by SAMSHA, bisexual individuals were at higher risk for developing some type of mental struggle, compared to the straight population.
1 in 10 straight women reported a severe depressive episode in those 12 months, but the numbers were higher for sexual minority females.
For males, sexual minority men were as much as three times more likely to experience a major depressive spell than straight men.
That means at least two weeks of nonstop depression which impacted eating, sleeping, energy, self-value, and thoughts of suicide.
Again, bisexual men and women were at a higher risk of major depressive episodes than gay, lesbian, or straight individuals.
For suicide -- bisexual and gay men were at a higher risk for seriously thinking about ending their life -- compared with straight men. Again, bisexual men were at a higher risk than gay males.
Sexual minority females were more likely than straight women to have serious suicidal thoughts -- and bisexual women were considered a higher risk than lesbian females.
The 2022 Data for the National Survey of LGBTQ Youth Mental Health from the Trevor Project, shows that almost half of lesbian gay, bisexual, transgender and queer youth seriously considered suicide.
In terms of actual suicide attempts, bisexual women and men were the most likely to make a serious attempt of ending their life. For bisexual women, the rate of suicide attempts was almost 6 times higher than straight women in America.
For substance abuse disorders, sexual minority members of all gender types in the study were more likely to develop struggles than straight individuals.
A third of all gay men, and bisexual females and males, had a major substance use disorder between 2021-22. A fourth of all lesbian females had a SUD. This includes either drugs, alcohol or opioid use.
It is important to note that these figures do not include any data on transgender, non-gender or other alternative categories. SAMSHA says they plan to include these groups and terms in their 2023 studies.
SAMSHA was established by Congress in the early 1990s to make data and services on mental health and substance abuse more available. Its focus is on preventing overdoses, enhancing suicide prevention and strengthening care.
Avery Martinez is the Be Mindful Reporter for ABC-7, supported in part by Report for America. RFA helps provide reporters for under-covered topics across the country.
